


Robin and Red Hood's Scavenger Hunt Surprise

by pment



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman and Robin (Comics), Gotham Academy (Comics)
Genre: Adventure, And I get to pick and choose what I want in it, Brotherly Bonding, Gen, It's my canon, Maps ;), Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Some Fluff because I can, ish, obviously cause Maps is here, scavenger hunt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:02:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27951233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pment/pseuds/pment
Summary: “Todd.” Damian had already abandoned the map where it laid out fully on his bed. Titus, finally joining his people, sniffed at the paper but made no move to lick it, which Damian was thankful for.“I...need your help on something.” Damian refused to meet the other’s eye, occupying himself with packing a black backpack. If this was all going the way Damian thought it was, he’d need some supplies. A flashlight for one. Maps wouldn't shy from underground tunnels or sewers, he knew.“Oh?” Todd’s voice took on a high pitched mocking tone that Damian didnotcare for. He narrowed his eyes to a glare before he even realized. “For what little bird?” His smile told Damian that Todd already knew for what.“This-” His hand waved to the map, untouched. “Is the start of a scavenger hunt.” He said it with the conviction of someone who’d thought they’d solved an impossible problem. “And if I know Maps even just the littlest bit,” He continued as he went over and started putting the paper away carefully, “This is just the beginning piece. I may...need help to figure it all out.”
Relationships: Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Mia "Maps" Mizoguchi & Damian Wayne, Mia "Maps" Mizoguchi & Jason Todd
Comments: 2
Kudos: 59





	1. A Start

**Author's Note:**

> Oh the wonders and rewards of being bored at work will give you. 
> 
> I'm trying my hand at some DC content, y'all. Gee golly what a shit show canon is, so I'll be takin' some fine ass liberties with what I want to keep and what I don't. If it's canon that's impactful to the story and I omit it, I'll let you know (or try to).
> 
> Characters and/or tags to be added as the story progresses. Main story will however focus on Maps, Damian and Jason. What a chaotic trio those three would be, amirite?

Ever since that day that Robin left her that book, Maps had been (low-key, of course) obsessed with the mini Batman. It wasn’t like she wasn’t before but now it was different. Now, it was personal.

Maps was making plans to get in touch with the boy wonder soon. Plans that included a detective hunt like the one he made for her. All leading back to some little something for him. To repay him for his gift.

Oh! Maybe they could even be pen pals or something! That would be so cool...she might even find out where the Bat Cave is!

Olive, of course, didn’t approve. But she didn’t not _not_ approve either. After everything, she was trusting Maps more and more with her making her own decisions (and trusting she was making the right ones). And this, making Robin her friend and maybe possibly becoming pen pals, was definitely the right decision. 

The problem came with getting Robin’s attention. And with _not_ getting anyone _else’s_ attention in doing so.

See ‘cuz while Robin had it easy, knowing exactly when and where Maps would be during the school year, Maps had little to no idea where _Robin_ would be. 

Well...not entirely.

Which is how Maps found herself where she was now; on the roof of a random building in Gotham, slightly freezing, in the dead of night, waiting for a boy wonder to appear and hopefully not a villain or someone else less than friendly. 

It was the usual cold biting through the night in Gotham. Maps pulled her scarf tighter around her neck hoping to close off any places the wind might get in. Her cheeks and nose were nearing that bright red and raw look. Her body was shivering, but she wouldn’t back down. Batman and Robin would be out tonight, she just knew it. And when they showed, she’d give Robin her letter; the starting piece of the elaborate hunt she set up for him. 

All she had to do was wait. Easy. Super Easy. 

Except...she was soooo bored. 

Unlike last time she did this, intending to meet Batman and show him all her super cool, valid and totally doable ideas, Maps wasn’t tired. She’d convinced Professor MacPherson to let her have some coffee ( _Just to try it, Professor! I wanna be more cultured and experience things! Please!_ )and saved it in a thermos for this exact moment. 

Maps was convinced she was the smartest person alive.

Coffee mixed with this task of waiting on end for however long this would take, though? Not her well thought-outest plan. 

She huddled her body in on itself as a cold breeze flowed by. Maps had a blanket she brought with her draped over her shoulders and pulled in closer. She wiggled enough to read her watch, sighing in exaggeration at the time. 

“Only Midnight?” She softly exclaimed. “God! Time is moving way too slow!”

“Is it? ‘Way too slow’ for what?” 

“Yah!” Maps practically jumped from the voice. Her blankets certainly got all messed up from her movement and jolting. They finally slipped off, piling around her as she turned to the corner where the metalized voice came from. Her heart beat in her ears as she watched the silhouette shaped of a man emerging from the shadows. 

Maps’ eyes widened as he stepped into the streetlamp’s light. 

“Red Hood.” She whispered. He fake saluted her, hand on hip. Maps tried not to get stars in her eyes at the sight of him ( _He’s a criminal Maps! Not a hero!_ ), but he was kinda-sorta an _anti_ -hero...which is like a kind of hero...Sorta.

She must’ve been staring star-eyed regardless because The Red Hood raised an eyebrow at her prolonged silence. 

“So…” His voice was gruff underneath the obvious voice modifier. “Why’s it way too slow?” He asked for the second time. Maps blinked out of her trance.

“Oh! Uh, it’s just.” She unfroze too, realizing how cold it’d gotten without her blanket. She pulled it up and grabbed the thermos with half the coffee gone. “I’m waiting for someone and they’re late.” She said, despite Robin not knowing she was gonna be here...or knowing he was late to this unknown meeting place. 

“Yea?” He asked in a rough voice. Maps squinted her eyes at him. Sure sounded like him trying to be more Batman like...or like he was getting sick or something.

Maps flipped her hand at him, looking away to scan the rooftops for something big and black and something smaller and brightly colored following it. Nothing came out to her. 

“You know,” She started as she spared a glance at the anti-hero who had yet to leave. Didn’t he have more important things to do besides bother some kid minding her own business? “I like this look better than the other one.”

She could see his eyebrows raise in small shock. She wasn’t lying either. Red Hood didn’t wear the helmet anymore, covering his whole face. Nowadays he had on a thick red domino mask and a weird metal face mask going up to his nose. A red hood, per his namesake, covered his head but it was clear that it was just a hoodie hood: removable and not as tight, showing off black hair and some streaks of while. 

Maps liked it more because it made him look way way cooler and more...trustworthy. He wasn’t hiding as much. She could see his expressions better. He looked more human. 

She could imagine him smiling the way his domino creased at the corners. Red Hood walked closer towards her. Get any closer, and he’d be towering over her.

He stopped just before that, looking to the cityscape just as she was.

“Thanks.” He said, gruff and quiet. Silence hung comfortably between them, both of them staring off in the distance, as if waiting for something to happen. Maps was half tempted to offer him a seat and maybe some of her definitely-getting-close-to-cold coffee. She held her tongue instead.

Maps knew what _she_ was waiting for...but what was Red Hood waiting for?

“What ya doin’ out here, kid?”

Maps paused to chew on her lip, wondering if she should answer honestly or not. If anyone, The Red Hood wouldn’t tell on her right? She was breaking about a million rules, and curfew and trespassing and probably some stupid law about minors drinking coffee from a thermos or something…

She sighed. What it came down to was...Maps wasn’t good at lying. And she didn’t want to be.

“I’m waiting for Robin.”

“Robin?” She nodded without looking up.

“Mhm. He doesn’t know I’m here cuz I wanted to surprise him.”

“Surprise him.” Red Hood’s tone took on something Maps couldn’t place. She looked up at the city again. Any minute now. Any minute Batman and Robin would show up...and then she’d get to go back home. To a nice warm bed and an excitable enabling roommate who was eager to listen to her adventure. 

“Surprise him how?” Red Hood asked, tilting his head like dogs do when they're confused. She dug around in her blanket. Maps whipped out her letter, all dusty brown and old looking for the aestheticTM, complete with a wax seal and everything. 

“A letter, huh?” Maps nodded, giving Red Hood another look at the tone he had. From what she could see, he looked like he had a shit-eating smug under that mask. Like he was on the brink of teasing her. Maps narrowed her eyes further. She knew that look, _knew it_ because she _had it_ plenty of times with Kyle and Olive way back when. 

“Don’t even.” She threatened the literal criminal. He held up his hands, brown jacket pulling with it, showing off the guns strapped so subtly at his hips. Maps rolled her eyes. She nearly faced off Killer Croc; that wouldn’t even faze her….sorta. 

“Wasn’t gonna say nothin’.”

“Sure you weren’t.” She mumbled.

Finally, or maybe just Suddenly, Red Hood plopped on the ground next to Maps the blanket mound. She finally wouldn’t have to strain to look up at him. Maps casually lifted the corner of her blanket as an offering to him. Red Hood merely waved it off.

“Didn’t know that little demon had an admirer this crazy.” He says with a chuckle barely contained. Maps twists her mouth.

“Friend.” She says because it’s clear how crazy she is as the wind keeps biting at them both. “We’re _friends_.” She stresses.

“Oh yeah?” He sounds like he doesn’t believe her which is _absurd_ because Maps very much doesn’t like. to. lie. He pulls down his metallic face mask as she glares, and whips out a cigarette in one go.

“ _Yea_.” She stresses again because of his tone. “We’ve fought bad guys together before...and solved mysteries.” His eyebrows say just how much he believes her. She frowns further and he lights the cigarette in the wind. “If you don’t believe me you can ask him!” 

Maps crosses her arms and looks away in a huff. It takes a moment, the clear sound of Red Hood taking a drag, before he huffs out a quick,

“Okay okay, I will.” 

She skeptically sips her thermos full of absolutely-now-cold coffee. 

“What’s even your name, kid?”

Maps held back the, _what’s yours?_ , she has on the tip of her tongue. He’s a vigilante, anti-hero, whatever. He’s so totally not gonna tell her….Probably.

She holds out her hand to him. “Maps Mizoguchi.” Probably not a good idea to give her full name out to a n anti-hero like Red Hood but eh, let him try to come after her. She’ll sick Robin on him. So she gives him a definite nod, at peace with her decision. Red Hood takes her hand. His fingertips are warm past his black fingerless gloves. She wonders how.

“Red Hood. Nice ta meet ya.”

“Real name?” She tries. Red Hood shakes just his head with a small chuckle.

“Not today kiddo.” At her pout, he sighs. “Maybe another time.” Maps grins.

“I’ll hold you to it.”

They lapse into a comfortable silence as they wait. Maps for Robin and Red Hood for...whatever it is he’s waiting for. Someone doing a crime maybe? Who knows. The night grows longer, Maps coffee completely bottoms out and the wind stills bringing with it an unusual eerie calm and quiet to the city of Gotham. It actually turns into a nice night. 

But Maps starts to fidget. As it gets later and later, she gets more tired and anxious. What if she got it wrong? What if it’s an off night for Batman and Robin? Maybe that’s why Red Hood’s here; to pick up the slack. If that was true...how would Robin get Maps’ letter?

By 1:30, her eyelids are drooping, she’s unbelievably cold and worse yet, there’s still no sign of Robin or Batman. Maps is about ready to call it. 

“So…” Red Hood breaks the silence. “You should probably know but Robin ain’t gonna show.” 

Maps freezes. She holds back an urge to smack Red Hood because a.) he’s a criminal and b.) it’s not too nice. 

“ _What?_ ” She grits out. 

“Sorry.” He says, sounding the least amount of sorry Maps has ever heard anyone sound like. “Probably should’ve told ya sooner than this. Was just enjoying the company, is all.” 

Okay urge to smack him gone. Urge to hug him replacing it immediately. 

Still Maps wilts. “Damn.” She says hoping Olive or Kyle or her mom doesn’t have telepathic tendencies. There’s nothing else to say but that. “ _Damn_.” She says again.

“Language.” He comments placidly. Maps sighs ignoring him. His mask has gone back up and his voice had that metallic tinge to it again. 

“Guess I should probably head home then and try again later.” She pauses. “When’ll he be back?” She asks. Red Hood taps his chin thinking. 

“Dunno.” 

Maps gives him the most deadpan stare she can. “You’re incredibly helpful.” She says with a monotone. Hood just laughs. 

“But…” He’s looking off into the distance as he says this. He might have a mask on, hiding his eyes, but Maps can tell. “I could always give it to him for ya.” And Maps perks up almost instantaneously.

“Really?!” He nods. Maps is out of her cocoon of warmth instantly too, getting the letter and fumbling in excitement.

“I’ll give you a ride back to...wherever the hell. I sure as hell ain’t letting you _walk_ back for Christ sake.”

She pauses. Narrows her eyes and smiles all mischievous like. Red Hood is almost entirely _not_ what she expected. He’s...so very…

“Soft.” She whispers. But still his head snaps to her, eyes narrowing in a glare, one she’s seen already from Robin. She shrugs it off carelessly. 

“You’re…”

“Don’t.”

“But you’re so-”

“Stop it. I’ll take it back!” 

“You’re a big softie!” 

“Kid!” She’s laughing while Red Hood fumes. But she knows by now; knows his secret. She’s still grinning while she’s packing up her set up, stuffing the blanket in her bag, placing the latter on the ground carefully.

“It’s okay.” Maps tries to sound casual but inside she’s anything but. “I won’t tell. Promise.” Red Hood Grunts but stays silent. It’s how she knows she’s won whatever argument they just had. Her backpack on her back, snug and tight, letter in hand, smile still present, she faces a now standing, arms crossed anti-hero. 

“You better not. I got a reputation, kid.” 

“I know.”

They don’t say anything more. Red Hood leads Maps (read: actually grapples with her on his back while she grins like a maniac) to a dingy darkened alley way where the pair find Red Hood’s stashed motorcycle. Ironically enough, he’s already got an extra helmet for Maps, even if it’s just a bit too big for her. She’s already insatiably giddy when she climbs on the back , not even hesitating for a split moment to latch onto Red Hood’s middle.

“Where to then, kid?”

“Gotham Academy.” 

He whistles lowly. “So you’re either a rich bitch or crazy smart.” He comments without malice. She snorts.

“Or both.” 

“Or both.” He agrees. She can’t see his face now that a red motorcycle helmet’s covered it but she bets he smiling. Or smirking. She knows she is. 

“Away we go.” He mutters loud enough for her to hear over the sound of the engine rumbling. She’s already keeping the bubbling giggles down but as soon as they’re racing off into the night (or early morning or whatever), Maps can’t keep it. She’s laughing loudly and uncontrollably. Red Hood doesn’t comment on it, but he does go faster and takes sharp turns that send her stomach in fits and makes her laugh and holler more. 

Oh yeah...Maps could get used to this. 

It’s after they finally arrive, the back way that Red Hood knows of somehow, that Maps stopped laughing. She’s still massively grinning though.

“Thanks.” Is all she can manage, giving his helmet back and handing him the all important letter. She’s still smiling but her nerves and tiredness are getting the best of her. Maps yawns unwillingly. Red Hood laughs at her, reaching down and ruffling her hair.

“It’s nice meeting ya, kid.” He says.

“Maps.” 

“Yeah. I know. Don’t be waiting on the rooftops anymore, got it?” He says in that I’m-trying-to-be-a-responsible-adult way. Maps gives him a look. “I mean it.” Trying to reiterate it. She sticks her tongue out at him. His whited out eyes look like he’s rolling them at her. 

“Go.” Maps winks, fake salutes him and splints away. She’s trusting him on this one. If she doesn’t hear from Robin, Maps knows exactly who to go bother now. 

* * *

“What the hell is this?” Damian comes back from the mission he had with Father to a letter addressed to him ( _Robin_ him) on his bed. He picked it up, flipped it over and over but it didn’t give away any secrets. 

“Special delivery.” Damian, so enthralled by the mysterious letter, didn’t hear Todd and played off his jolt of surprise with a glare. 

“What.” He demanded in that tone that usually got him in trouble with his ‘siblings’. 

Todd was leaning on the edge of his open doorway, acting as casual as can be. But that smirk on his face set Damian on edge. It was the smirk of someone that knew something Damian didn’t. Something that suggested that Damian _should_. 

“What. Is. This.” He tried again to will the answer out of Todd when the taller man stayed quiet. Todd shrugged. 

“It’s a special delivery from a one Maps Mizoguchi. She asked me to give it to you.” 

Damian frowned. He turned back to the letter. He felt the pull of his eyebrows coming together in confusion. Maps left this? For him? Why? And what exactly did she want? 

“Why?” He asked the messenger. Todd merely shrugged.

“Dunno. But it’s gotta be pretty important for her to go through all the trouble of waitin’ for ya in the middle of Gotham to deliver it.” 

His eyebrow raised. “Then this _is_ really...for Robin.” He whispered more to himself than to Todd. Damian turned the letter over and over again, finally landing on the side where a shabby wax seal stood. He narrowed his eyes at it, trying to get it to spill Maps’ intentions before he opened it. 

“I see.” He said quietly. “Is that all, Todd?” He said to the figure still thoroughly planted at his bedroom door. Todd gave no indication but a nod of his head. “Fine then. Thank you.” He waved a hand behind him, attention focusing back on his letter. “ You can leave now.” 

“Nope.” 

Damian felt the headache that hadn’t even come yet. “What.” This time it was said with venomous malice. Todd ignored his vocal tone and warning and sauntered his way into the room. Damian resisted the urge to either back away or get in his face. 

“I delivered the damn thing.” He huffed out, stopping just at Damian’s bed. “I wanna see what’s so special about it. That girl was way too sweet to be ‘friends’ as she called it with a Demon like you.” Damian glared outright now. In the back of his mind, however, the ‘friends’ part of what Todd just said repeated over and over.

“Well?” Todd asked when Damian remained silent. And the young Wayne must’ve been going soft because instead of shooing Todd out of his room and out of his business, Damian let him stay and started to carefully open the letter. 

Todd looked over his shoulder in curiosity. 

The seal peeled off easy, yet Damian still went slow and carefully. It wasn’t often he got something like this from a...friend. The brown paper inside looked old and worn. It was a thick, folded coffee colored paper. Taped to its blank outside was a white card with carefully small printed black letters on it. 

_“Have Fun_ ;) _-M”_

Damian dropped the envelope on his bed and peeled off the white note, again as carefully as possible. It came off harder than the wax seal, ripping the paper underneath just the tiniest bit. He absentmindedly handed it over to Todd, attention fully focused on the thick folded paper. 

He started unfolding it without hesitation. 

It was rough paper and Damian wondered just where Maps had gotten it from. Had she scoured the supplies available to her at the Academy? Had she bought this specific paper for him and for this letter? He hoped it was like the case with the cursed quill. 

It kept opening up, into a bigger and bigger sheet of paper. Eventually, Damian just started to unfold it on his bed, Todd nearly reading his mind and snagging the empty envelope out of the way before he set it down completely. 

And low and behold it was...a map. Maps had sent him, had sent _Robin_ , a map. 

Todd broke the silence with a long low whistle. 

“Well damn. Can’t say her name ain’t spot the fuck on.” Damian made a face, his mouth twisting as he pressed his lips together in both confusion and disdain. For the map and Todd respectfully. 

“It’s...hand drawn.” He commented quietly. It was. The map looked like it was of Old Gotham, or at least part of it. The weaving and interconnecting black lines making familiar shapes and buildings. It was obvious how much time and effort was put into making it. The details impressed him and at the same time made him all the more curious. 

_Have Fun_ , she put. Have fun at what exactly? 

“Your friend’s got skills.” Todd muttered appreciatively. “But she ain’t that good.” Damian felt a weird urge to defend Maps rise in him. An annoyance at Todd at daring to criticize the hard work Maps had clearly gone through. Just as he was about to say as much, finally shoo out the unwanted attention and rid himself of all the was Jason Todd, he cut him off. 

“She got that part of Old Gotham all wrong.” He said, plain as could be, pointing to a corner of the map. “Don’t look like that as far as I’ve seen.” Todd shrugged and moved away. 

Damian was still silent, pondering it . His bite and anger at Todd disappeared without any hesitation. Overtaking it was the attention on the map Todd pointed out. If he looked carefully enough, Damian could tell, without speculation...that part of the map was drawn in a different color. A rich blue that was as dark as the black of the rest of the map, but was clearly not. It was…

 _Have Fun_. 

“Todd.” Damian had already abandoned the map where it laid out fully on his bed. Titus, finally joining his people, sniffed at the paper but made no move to lick it, which Damian was thankful for. Todd was nearly out his door when the shortest Robin called for him. 

“What.” Just as before, mimicking Damian’s tone, it was a demand of an answer not a question. 

“I...need your help on something.” Damian refused to meet the other’s eye, occupying himself with packing a black backpack. If this was all going the way Damian thought it was, he’d need some supplies. A flashlight for one. Maps wouldn’t shy from underground tunnels or sewers, he knew. 

“Oh?” Todd’s voice took on a high pitched mocking tone that Damian did _not_ care for. He narrowed his eyes to a glare before he even realized. “For what little bird?” His smile told Damian that Todd already knew. 

“This-” His hand waved to the map, untouched. “Is the start of a scavenger hunt.” He said it with the conviction of someone who’d thought they’d solved an impossible problem. “And if I know Maps even just the littlest bit,” He continued as he went over and started putting the paper away carefully, “This is just the beginning piece. I may...need help to figure it all out.” 

Todd’s eyebrows were reaching his hairline. His cocking mocking smile was gone. He looked at Damian, looked at the place the map just was, looked at Titus who wagged his tail at the attention and then back to Damian. 

“Okay.” He said bluntly. “I ain’t got much else to deal with today.” He cracked his knuckles and moved back into the room, a devilish smile making its way onto his face. “Where do we start?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for now! Comments and Kudos well appreciated, criticism where warranted. Till the next time I can, Stay Fed my friends. <3


	2. Three Pieces Make a Whole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More brothers get involved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we goooooo

“Kids.” Jason mumbled, knee and elbow deep in a dump truck load of garbage. Make that a few dump truck loads. “Give ‘em an inch and they take a mile.”

A few feet away from him, Damian was even deeper in the trash, being that much shorter than Jason himself. But you had to give the little tyke points for determination and persistence. Not once in their dumpster diving adventure did the kid complain. Which, like, had to be a record for him. Or something. 

“Find anything yet, Todd?” Damian asked, clearly reaching his point of frustration. Jason shook his head, grimacing at a particularly smelly bag. He tossed it to the side. 

“You really think this-” He motioned with arms spread open wide “Is where the next clue is?”

Damian stood up as tall as he could, which among the mountains of trash bags and other assortments of junk, wasn’t very impressive. He glared at the surrounding trash as if it would give him all the answers he wanted. He sighed. 

“I...don’t know.” He hopped around bags to get to Jason. “But the red ‘X’ Maps left was clearly here.”

“Riiight but like…we ain’t found nothing yet and it’s been hours.”

Damian sighed again, like Jason confirmed everything he was trying to deny. “I don’t understand. Why would she send us here?” Jason liked the ‘us’ inclusion. “She must’ve been on about something.” He stomped around some, meandering away from the piles of trash. “I just don’t know what.” He mumbled to himself more than to Jason. 

“Well.” He said, finding a very convenient and not all that gross looking abandoned washer to lean against. He nearly lit up a cigarette but didn’t wanna deal with the brat yelling about his health or whatever. Which would be bogus considering they were literally dumpster diving where Jason swore they could get some serious disease contracted flat out. “What’s it we’re really after?”

“A map piece.” 

“Alll right. And if you were some shit kid, which you are by the way, where would you hide it?” Jason felt akin to a teacher the way he was goading Damian to think about things like this. He’d just come along to see where all this led, but now he got himself invested. Stupid kids. Damian knew Maps better. He should be able to find the next clue easy. 

It didn’t go the way he wanted it.

Damian turned on him, eyes bright with anger. “She is not some ‘shit kid’. She's a Friend.” He said with a venomous tone. Jason noted the lack of ‘me’ included. If he were anyone else, he’d be intimidated for sure. 

He shrugged. “Yea okay. Still.” Damian didn’t seem satisfied but dropped it. 

“It’s too unpredictable to leave somewhere here.” He said after a pause. “But I don’t know…” His eyes found the office building in the front. Something clicked.

“She left it for Robin,” He said. Jason bounced off the unusable machine and instead managed to lean an arm on Damian’s head. The perfect height (and something he’d always wanted to do). The kid, so caught up in his revelation, didn’t even protest. “So she would’ve left it some place only Robin could get to.”

Jason followed his eyeline. “The roof.” It wasn’t even a question.

“The roof.” 

They got up there the normal way: behind the back and grappled up the side. As it turns out, the roof was the correct answer. There, tucked away in the farthest corner, was a red X. Written identical to the one on their map, just bigger and redder against the off white ceramic texture of the junkyard office building’s roof. 

“Well I’ll be.” Jason says when Damian remains silent. His eyes are glued to the ‘X’ and further to the black backpack bungee corded and duck taped securely to the middle of it. A spray painted ‘R’ is in its middle. 

Damian doesn’t hesitate and goes for the bag. 

Inside are three things. Another thick folded paper, more than likely a map, a notepad with a green crayon taped on its front, and lastly another envelope with the same neat writing on it as before. The envelope says, “ _For Robin Eyes only”._

Damian hands off the backpack and tackles the letter. Jason busies himself with the folded paper; unfolding it to a similarly sized map as the first one. Complete with the corner a different map and a red ‘X’ to show them where to next. 

Maps sure knows how to keep a theme going.

Damian’s pouring over a much longer letter than the one Maps left for him before. The ‘ _Have Fun_ ’ was still ringing in his ears despite it not having been actually said. It looks like a full on letter this time. Damian doesn’t look away, not even when Jason comes up and leans his arm on his short little head for the second time that day, uninterrupted.

“So what’s the letter say?” He asks as casual as can be. Damian shuts it quickly and stuffs it back into the envelope. 

“Nothing. Where’s the map.” Jason gives his back a knowing smile while Damian walks away. ‘Nothing’, huh? Jason rolls his eyes, not that Damian sees. He joins his little brother by the map he spread out on the rooftop. 

“Same as before.” Damian comments.

“Yea. Should be easy to get the next piece then.” Damian grins wickedly and Jason has a flash image of Talia Al Ghul giving him the same type of smile when Jason had been first training with her and actually managed to hit her for the first time. He looked to Jason for confirmation and all Jason could give was an eyebrow raised look expressing something he didn’t even know. 

“Yea.” He said in response, not entirely liking the connection he made of Damian to Talia. “Yea lets go get that last map piece.”

Getting the last piece: Easy. Putting the map together: Not Easy. Hard actually. Frustrating storming out of the room Hard. Stupid Hard. Completely and Utterly- 

“Okay. We need help.” Jason was the one to say. Damian at that point was glaring full on Batman style at the map pieces they had. It had been Damian’s idea to copy the maps, cut the wrong pieces out and tape them together to get the final map. 

It didn’t work. 

Anyway they tried to rearrange the pieces, it didn’t work. It wasn’t even a map at this point. It was a source of migraines.

“We do _not_.” He spat venomously. Jason gave him a pat on the head and was met with a knife to hand. Jason, as casual as one could be after almost getting cut, shrugged. 

“Yea we do. Another set of eyes. A hint. A-”

“What the hell are you two doing? Are you guys like actually hanging out together? God help us all.” 

Timothy Drake stands in the open doorway of the library that Damian and Jason have claimed as their base of operations during this scavenger hunt, or whatever this was. Jason grins and he thinks it probably looks a lot like the wicked grin Damian gave to him before when he said all this would be easy. 

“We need another Robin.” He finishes, eyeing Tim up. Said boy meets his eyes and backs up, just a step. Smart kid. But Jason’s faster. 

“Heya Timmy. Wanna help some brothers o’ yours out?” 

Tim looks panicked for about a second, then turns and runs. 

Very smart kid. But Jason is still faster.

He sprints around the corner, using the momentum of his clean socks to propel himself around the corners of the hardwood floors of the manor. As Tim reaches the stairs, taking two at a time, Jason grins. This was fun stuff right here. He should chase Tim more often now that they weren’t on killing terms.

Vaguely, Jason realised that Damian wasn’t following him. It didn’t really matter to him. Jason was gonna catch little Timmy no problem and get him to help with this stupid map situation. Sooner they finished this thing, sooner Jason could go back to _not_ being around the manor and Bruce. Lord knows he didn’t want to _willingly_ be here. 

Tim was sprinting down the hallway, straight point. Big mistake. Tim was good at a lot of things, Jason would be the first to admit, but running? Jason knew he had him beat. Ain’t nothing gonna make you run faster than being a street kid in Gotham jacking tires. 

In less than 5 minutes flat, Jason was fireman style carrying a yelling Tim back into the library.

Damian barely spared them a glance, clearly still giving himself the worst headache he could pouring over those maps. Jason dumped Tim on the adjacent couch unceremoniously. 

“How’s it going squirt?”

“No progress I’m afraid.” He says solemnly. Tim gives them both a look.

“What is going on right now?” He demands none too gently. 

“Scavenger Hunt.” They respond in unison. Jason drops to the floor to sit criss-cross next to Titus who raises his head in a demand and acknowledgement of Jason and pets. Jason gives into him immediately and begins petting the nearly spoiled dog. 

“Uh...okay?” Tim peers over the couch edge at their mess of a collage of maps. “And you need me why?”

“They don’t fit together.” Damian huffs out like a kid. Jason smirks. He _is_ one so it’s more fitting this way. Tim gives him a confused look.

“O-kay?” Jason takes pity on his absolute confusion while Damian clicks his tongue and focuses back on the map and mystery before him.

“So this kid the Demon’s friends with left him a scavenger hunt-mystery thing and we’re tryna figure it all out. These three pieces are suppose ta work together somehow and tell us where to go next but they aren’t exactly cooperating, you see? I suggested we get another pair of eyes and here you are.” Jason finds himself leaning back onto his elbows. It’s late afternoon by now. They started in the morning when Jason dropped off the letter after a post patrol nap and after a quick lunch, had been working steadily since noon to fit the pieces together. 

It took them barely any time at all to _find_ the pieces but now that they had ‘em? It had been _hours_.

“What kid?” Tim asks, relaxing just the littlest bit, probably glad this isn’t really about him and him being here’s only a coincidence. 

“My friend Maps.” Damian pipes up. He’s moved to take a break, sipping some tea Alred left them an hour or so ago. It had to be cold by now, but Damian didn’t seem to mind. 

“Maps…” Tim let himself slide down the leather seats of the couch to sit in front of their homemade map pieces, still untapped and separated. He hummed and peered over the papers. “That girl with the yellow thing in her hair that’s somehow literally not terrified of any of us?”

“That’s the one.”

Tim hummed again. “That kid threw a batarang at me once.” Damian and Jason both whipped their heads to stare at him after that one. He met both their eyes with a deadpan look, focusing on Damian after a moment. “ _Someone_ gave it to her.” He gave out in a monotone. Damian looked away in a huff and Jason felt like he missed something here.

“Ooookay.” He said, breaking the weird tension the two younger Robins made. “Anyways. Got any ideas on this?” 

Tim was serious now, eyebrows furrowed in deep concentration. He rested his head on his palm as he stared over the maps. 

“Have you tried-”

“Yes.” Damian finished without even looking. He was flipping through an atlas on Gotham specifically. Tons of different maps from different times in Gotham’s history. Tim shot him a glare.

“ _Have you tried_ ,” He said again with a deeper and angrier tone. “ _Not being an ass_?” Jason rolled his eyes. Leave it to Tim.

Damian’s eyes shot to Tim and narrowed in the near best imitation of the Batman glareTM Jason’s seen to date. Tim didn’t even flinch but stared right back with his own Batman glare. God it was like watching Golf the way these two were entertaining. 

Jason couldn’t stand it. 

“Alright alright, the audience’s got the point. You two are stupid rivals or whatever and ya don’t like each other. Can we move on?” Tim looked at him with a raised brow.

“Audience? What audience?”

A thumb point to himself and a solid smirk. “Why me ‘n Titus, of course.” Tim’s eyebrows immediately dropped.

“Okay.” He said, sounding far less grumpy (so Jason’s little interjection _totally_ worked). “So what have you tried exactly?”

“We’re arranged it in every way we can but the maps don’t fit together.” Damian slid over to Tim. “And there’s still the red X here but without actually knowing where this is, we can’t-”

“That’s DC.” Tim interrupted. 

“What.” 

“DC. Like. I’m pretty sure that’s the Nation Archives building.” Damian looked like he blew a fuse just right then. Jason figured now was the perfect time to get up and actually start helping again before Damian stabbed something in frustration, namely _Tim_ , since he was closest. 

“So what.” He plopped down on the couch near overshadowing Tim. “Did Maps like. Fly to DC to leave the next clue or somethi-” 

“And that one’s I’m pretty sure Boston? Not like a hundred percent on that.” Damian snactched the map piece Tim pointed out, while Jason started googling maps of Boston. “And this one is a close up of somewhere else but it sure as hell isn’t Gotham.” 

“There is...only _one_ X. How the hell are we supposed to find where this all leads if all the maps are of different locations?” Damian asks eyebrows pulled tight along with a deep frown on his face as he puts the ‘Boston’ map back down on the ground. “Why even draw all these maps, why even _make us find them all_ if only one was what we needed?” 

“Maybe…” Tim’s staring at the X. Jason, meanwhile, is looking up map after map and trying to match it to the third map they have. He’s getting close, he’s sure. 

“Maybe we’re _not_ supposed to go to the X?” He finishes with a skeptical tone. “Does anything _say_ we’re supposed to?”

“We just followed the X’s to get the-”

“Yeah Yeah.” Tim waved off Damian. “But that was then, this is now.” He pressed his lips together. “If I remember right...Maps is a Gotham Academy kid, right?” Jason looked up from his scrolling in time to see Damian glare and nod hesitantly. “So she definitely _wouldn’t_ be able to fly to DC to do anything like put something hidden in the…” He trailed off as he checked their maps. “The National Archives. It wouldn’t make sense to go there when Maps totally wouldn’t be able to. It’s gotta be some kind of clue or something.” 

Then, like a cliché, Jason watched Tim put his finger on his chin as he thought. 

“What’s so important about the National Archives?” Jason makes grabby hands for the map they’ve yet to figure out. Tim hands it to him without pausing in his Greatest-Detective-or-whatever thinking. 

It’s quiet but eventually Damian speaks up. “Nothing. Nothing that _I_ know of at least.”

“It’s got the Declaration of Independence?” Tim asks.

“Yea no one cares about that though. I doubt Maps does either.” Jason pauses, looking closely at the hand drawn map and his phone. Maybe it would legit scan the map and tell him where? “Then why’s _that_ where the X is? It’s gotta be important somehow.” 

“You’re right.” Damian said like the words physically hurt him to say. If Jason wasn’t so preoccupied, he would’ve absolutely teased about it. Done the whole ‘ _I’m what? You’re gonna have to say that again, I missed it_ ’ _‘Could you say that a little louder?’_ and everything big-brotherly-like. As it was, he was _this_ close to figuring out this last map. Somehow he knew it was important to figuring out the rest. 

“Maybe it’s not about the X in the first place.” 

“Then what _is_ it about, Drake? What could it possibly be ab-”

“Got it. It’s the...Arctic?” Jason was grinning up until he said that. What the hell did drawing an in close map of the Arctic get them? Damian scrambled up to sit next to him to see on his phone. He squinted his eyes. 

“Why.”

“Hell if I know. But God Damn this kid’s good at drawing maps. Found it by scanning it. Fucking computer thought it was a legit professional map.”

“She is extremely talented.” Damian said with a definite nod of his head. Jason simply raised an eyebrow at that. The brat hardly gave a compliment so easy. Maps really must be something special.

“Boston. DC and the Arctic.” Tim hummed from the ground. His eyebrows were still tight together as he thought aloud. It sure wasn’t hard to get little ol’ Timmy wrapped up in this, was it? “What do they all have in common?”

They were all silent, thinking of different things. Jason couldn’t tell you what the others were thinking but he was thinking they were at a dead end here. There was _nothing_ in common with the three maps. They didn’t fit together before. They weren’t going to now and beyond that the X in the middle of the DC map didn’t help them one bit to figure out where exactly Maps was trying to lead them to. No way that girl made it to DC and back without anyone noticing. So then why-?

“Oh, what’s going on here? Brotherly bonding without _moi?_ ”

Oh great. The Dick was in town and no one told Jason. 

“And with that. I take my leave.” He said, trying not to hurry and scramble out of the manor now that it was getting just a bit too crowded in here for his liking. Damian looked heartbroken enough for Jason to pause mid-escape.

“You said you’d help and now you’re leaving? Just like that?” Jason was about to retaliate the accusation but Dick cut in so rude-fully.

“Help with what?”

“A scavenger hunt or something.” Tim put in, not sparing any of them or their three way staring contest a look. He was still wrapped up in staring and figuring out the maps enough to not even care that Dick had come into the room. Which Jason could respect, if he was honest. 

Jason, however, could not. He was here for Damian and his own curiosity. Anything more and he was out.

“Scavenger hunt?” 

“That _you’re_ not a part of. Scram Goldie.” 

“Wait wait I-”

“Richard could help! You just said that we need help! An extra set of eyes and all.” 

“Yea but _not his_.”

“Can I say some-”

“No. Shut your yap and another thi-”

“All of You. Shut. The Fuck. Up.” Tim, the _seemingly_ most quiet of them all, shouted from the floor. It had the desired effect of shutting up the others. He was glaring at them when they looked and Jason swore in the next second, he was about to get a cartoon vein popping out of his forehead. 

The three of them, Dick, Damian and Jason waited in silence. 

“Jason. He can help. Don’t leave just ‘cuz you’ve got beef or whatever. Damian. Come over here and help me look over this stuff. Dick. What do you think Boston, DC and the Arctic have in common? That’s what we’re tryna figure out right now, so you can help or get out.”

He didn’t even wait for any of them to respond, just went back to his thinking. 

Even Jason couldn't argue too much with him and that tone he took. Stern and angry in that disappointing-dad way. Kinda scary how close the kid could get to being like Bruce without actually being like Bruce. 

Damian, easily enough, listened, having already gone back to the maps, leaving Jason and Dick standing awkwardly. They both eyed each other in a non-verbal staring contest. 

“Fine.” Jason finally relented, going back to his position on the couch. “But I doubt Goldie’s got the stuff for this one.” Dick only stuck his tongue out at him.

“So now.” And of course he sat right next to Jason too. “What’s this about Boston, DC and...the Arctic?” 

Damian ran through it all with Dick while Jason and Tim mostly looked on and thought about the maps. They weren’t on any major breakthroughs by the time Goldie got all the information and was all caught up. 

“It just doesn’t make any sense.” Jason huffed. Maps was...an interesting kid. Who’s to say they could even understand her logic whatsoever? Jason would’ve thought that her and Damian both being weird ass kids would make it easier for him to understand but now he was thinking it was the opposite. They were both weird in different ways, unrecognizable to each other.

Dick hummed and picked up the DC map discarded on the seat next to Jason. ‘Course he had to reach fully _over_ Jason to get it, ‘causing a slew of complaints from him. 

“The National Archives?” He said to himself more than the others. “Kinda reminds me of National Treasure, you know?” He chuckled out a small little laugh and brushed his hair back. He stopped mid-brush. “Actually...now that I think about it…” 

Jason watched him, his own thoughts following his line of thinking. 

“What?” Damian demanded. Dick was messing on his phone, ignoring the little Robin completely. “What are you thinking, Richard?” 

Jason met Tim’s eyes. “No way.” He said. “That couldn’t be-I mean it can’t be that... _what?_ ” Jason shrugged, taking it all in stride. Honestly he wouldn’t put it past the kid to make all of the maps clues about a Nicolas Cage movie of all things.

“We are talking ‘bout a kid who made ‘er way to inner city Gotham just to deliver a letter to that weirdo.” He pointed to a near pouting Damian. 

“What. Are. You. Talking. About.” He demanded more seriously this time. Jason could only grin slyly. 

“You ever watch National Treasure before, little bird?” 

* * *

Classes were waaay more of a drag for Maps today. It had less to do with what they were learning and more to do with the incredibly important and awesome letter stashed under her pillow in her room. 

That morning, when Maps came back from a quick shower and her morning routine, she’d found an important looking letter on her pillow. And when she flipped it over, a red and golden R was stamped on it. 

Her excitement peaked. 

You’d think it’d make the day go by just that much slower but it somehow had the opposite effect. Maps got all her work done in class, under the guise of notetaking. She faked attention and participation, being the first to answer a question so the professors left her alone after she answered wrong or when they asked another question. She was even feigning attention during the complete soul-crushingly boring movies in history class. Turns out even pretending to pay attention made everything go by that much faster.

Maps couldn’t get in trouble today. She couldn’t have any homework. She couldn’t be distracted. 

There was a superhero waiting for her. 

She ignored everything else and kept working. It was Friday. So having no homework or detention was beneficial for two reasons. Robin and the upcoming weekend. 

Maps could feel the looks Olive was giving her. Throughout the day, her best friend gave her side-eyes and glances, ranging from confused one eyebrow up to the narrowing of eyes into a glare. Maps avoided it, determined to finish her work and be as free as possible for later.

Halfway through the day, Olive stopped her, an iron grip on her forearm. 

“What’s up with you?” Even in the busy hallway as other kids moved from class to class, Olive’s sharp voice still cut through. Maps made a show of being annoyed, but really at this point she was bursting to tell someone. Who better than her best friend?

Maps looked slyly to the right. Then the left. Olive’s confused face morphed into a bit of exasperation before Maps pulled her into the bathroom and out of other students prying eyes and ears. 

“Okay okay. Here’s a thing I did.” Olive immediately leaned against the door, blocking anyone from entering and probably to give Maps that cross armed look she nearly always gave when Maps started some long explanation of why they _had_ to do this or _had_ to do that. The last time she gave Maps this look was when Maps told Olive they _had_ to break into a museum because there was just no way they were making up the whole ‘Declaration of Independence has a map on the back’ thing.

“What’s it this time?” Most people would say Olive’s tone was harsh, exasperated and frustrated all in one. Maps knew better. It was all that and more. Probably a little protectiveness and caring too. She hoped.

“It’s not what you think.” She was quick to stop any ideas Olive had. Olive looked skeptical at best.

“It's not?”

“Yes. Okay. Maybe. You remember when Robin stole my yearbook?” Olive nodded. “And lead us on that chase to that cute little gift?” Olive nodded again, her eyebrows coming together as she thought about what Maps was leading her too. Maps herself was practically pacing, excitement bubbling at _finally_ getting to tell someone about her letter and _his_ response.

“So I was thinking-”

“Dangerous.”

“-Hush. I was thinking, ‘hey I should do something for him too!’ So then I did andhetotallysentmealetterbackandit’sinmyroomrightnow.” 

Maps breathed heavily after having word vomit all of that. Olive paused too, blinking owlishly once and then twice. 

“Okay.” She said breaking the silence. “Okay. Uh, yea. You’re gonna have to go over that again.” Maps already had her mouth open again. Olive stopped her with an open palmed hand. “ _After_ we get lunch. Come on. I’m hungry.” 

Maps smiled wide and bounced a little as she followed Olive out of the bathroom. “Okay.” She said. “Okay okay okay. But you’re gonna love this.” Olive looked over her shoulder at Maps and rolled her eyes. She doubted it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Comments, likes, etc always appreciated <3


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